Leaked video shows RIM’s new BlackBerry 10 handset in action

High-quality photos also show the device looking a lot like Apple's iPhone 5.

The January 30 launch date of the new BlackBerry 10 operating system is quickly approaching, and there's no shortage of leaks to help ramp up the hype. Earlier this week, Vietnamese technology blog Tinhte.vn published high-quality images of the BlackBerry 10 L-series, and now the blog has published a video of the new handset in action.

In the video, the device is shown with a revamped user interface and multitasking capabilities. The L-series smartphone—previously referred to by its codename "London"—looks somewhat similar to the iPhone 5 with its rounded corners, shiny bezel, and matte back. It also features a removable 1,800mAh battery, which seems rather small for a dual-core Snapdragon S4 based on the battery life of Android phones with similar specifications.

Spy shots of the L-series handset laid side-by-side next to a white iPhone 5 had surfaced earlier last month. The photo was posted by India-based BlackBerry fan site BBin and showed it with the same 4.2-inch, 1280x768 resolution display. It was also rumored to feature 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, NFC, and an LED flash on the back.

Honestly, it looks pretty nice--but I see more Motorola in these than iPhone 5. Big question for me is, if Microsoft is having difficulty getting developer mindshare, how the hell is RIM going to get them now?

Since waterloo is like a second home town to me, I really want to like blackberry and see them succeed...I even have a cheap blackberry curve with no data plan as a basic cell phone now...but I just can't see this new phone mattering. My wife has the current top end torch from her work, and besides the keyboard being nice for email and calendar, it can't do anything. Every interesting app is iphone/android only, all kids games/programs to entertain my son, the web is slow and buggy, no usable mapping program, etc. etc. etc.

Even if the new phone is wonderful, the dearth of good programs isn't going to magically fix itself.

Universal charging and industry standard expandability. Nothing like the iPhone 5. Chicklet app icons feels dated though, but curious to see more of the multitasking, cross-app and OS integration (ala MS "contracts"), and of course, the model with BB's legendary keyboard.

If not for my love of Canadian businesses, then for the sake of further diversity in the mobile market, I hope BB10 is something RIM can actually succeed in selling. It looks like they may finally be getting the right idea.

They're basically matching the iPhone 5 spec wise? Is that really smart? They're not Apple, they don't have iOS. Android competes on many angles: price, flexibility and importantly better hardware (bigger screens, faster CPUs etc). If all Android phones were iPhones running an open source OS they'd have half the market share they do now.

Honestly, it looks pretty nice--but I see more Motorola in these than iPhone 5. Big question for me is, if Microsoft is having difficulty getting developer mindshare, how the hell is RIM going to get them now?

Well, it's pretty trivial to port Android applications (that meet certain requirements) to run on the Playbook, whereas Windows Phone is different ecosystem altogether. Native apps might be a long time time coming, but the framework and tools are actually pretty good. All that helps.

What hurts is that very little from the classic Blackberry OS is going to work, so that huge installed base means pretty much nothing. Even the security infrastructure changes (you need new a BES infrastructure) so enterprise and government isn't a guarantee.

Disclosure: I do like the PlayBook since the 2.0 update: it's quick (far, far quicker than contemporary Android tablets---it's embarassing, actually) and pleasant to use. It will be interesting to see RIM put that technology to use, and a shame if it vanishes.

Honestly, it looks pretty nice--but I see more Motorola in these than iPhone 5. Big question for me is, if Microsoft is having difficulty getting developer mindshare, how the hell is RIM going to get them now?

I promoted your comment, but wanted to add that the only difficulty MS had with "getting developer mindshare" was MS itself, through not releasing the SDK until 2 weeks prior to launch.

Unfortunately, that keyboard is something we'll have to wait for: the L-Series is coming some time after the touchscreen-only model above. It's also likely that the keyboard equipped model won't be quite as nice as the current 9900: pre-production photos show straight rows versus the traditional curved-rows of the 9900.

On the positive side, the software keyboard is a further evolution of the SwiftKey-based one in the PlayBook, which is excellent.

Universal charging and industry standard expandability. Nothing like the iPhone 5. Chicklet app icons feels dated though, but curious to see more of the multitasking, cross-app and OS integration (ala MS "contracts"), and of course, the model with BB's legendary keyboard.

Looks a bit too much 2010 to me. What's with the wasted space on top and bottom?

They're bezels and some people like them. I realize that having an edge to edge screen may look cool, but many aren't willing to put up with the usability nightmare of only being able to grip the phone with your fingertips along the edges.

Looks nice and smooth, and it's got a good enough (IMO) utilitarian/industrial look going for it. BB is still a household name, which cannot be said about Windows Phone, so I think they still have a chance. But they *really* need to execute. No delays, no feature regression, no bugs.

Now if only we could smooth out the shaky-cam and finger twitchiness from bloggers' videos...

I would never have considered buying this until I bought a used Playbook for under $100 to use as a book reader. It ended up being a really nice piece of hardware and the native calendar and email apps are excellent with lots of nice little usability touches. I'm not a big app user; I really don't care if my phone can change my voice to sound like a kitty kat or whatever so this might actually work for me. I've owned iOS devices and found them to be nice but over hyped and android stuff is good but the hardware feels chinzy and the apps feel unfinished while the Playbook has no app support whatsoever the apps it does have are excellent and the hardware is really nice.

Bummer none of the other smartphone makers have come up with a compelling dock/connector format.

My iPhone/iGizmo friends set their device in the dock; it's charged, audio is connected and it can be controlled by the device. My Android phone? Try to get the cludgy little USB connector to fit, connect headphone jack, start your app via the phone and find a place to lean it and make the best of the situation.

beebee wrote:

Unlike Apple, form follow function at RIM and the rest.

Sheesh!

By "function" do you mean being an iPhone clone? The form clearly following the function...

They're basically matching the iPhone 5 spec wise? Is that really smart? They're not Apple, they don't have iOS. Android competes on many angles: price, flexibility and importantly better hardware (bigger screens, faster CPUs etc). If all Android phones were iPhones running an open source OS they'd have half the market share they do now.

Of course if you are running a phone using Java (Android) instead of native code (iOS, WP8) then you only need half the CPU and memory and can still outrun an Android device. I'm guessing BB10 is also native.

I'm interested in seeing how this does for no other reason than pure intrigue and curiousity. That and the fact it's the only Mobile OS built on a Micro-Kernel like QNX. The Playbook I have is not too shabby, nor is it too great, but still - I'll be keeping an eye on this just for technological curiosity.

Many years ago, I used a glass syringe and reusable needle to give myself insulin... Then came disposable syringes with much finer gauge needles.... Today, I use an insulin pump to deliver controled amounts of insulin every hour.....

I'll definitely trade in my iPhone for this. It really bugs me that the battery indicator is on the right side of the screen with the iPhone. Blackberry has reinvented the segment by moving it to the left.

I also like what they've done with the swiping from left to right to get to different screens. Genius!

I expect that this device will give me turn-by-turn directions with Waze over bluetooth as I simultaneously listen to Pandora all while checking my outlook e-mail. I would expect it to do this all without crashing or needing a reboot.

I guess it's assumed that my photos, settings, etc. will constantly be backed up to the cloud in case it's lost or stolen.

I would never have considered buying this until I bought a used Playbook for under $100 to use as a book reader. It ended up being a really nice piece of hardware and the native calendar and email apps are excellent with lots of nice little usability touches. I'm not a big app user; I really don't care if my phone can change my voice to sound like a kitty kat or whatever so this might actually work for me. I've owned iOS devices and found them to be nice but over hyped and android stuff is good but the hardware feels chinzy and the apps feel unfinished while the Playbook has no app support whatsoever the apps it does have are excellent and the hardware is really nice.

Hardware feels chintzy? Like what the GS3 or One X/S? Chintzy is not the word for those high quality devices. A blackberry torch however...

Many years ago, I used a glass syringe and reusable needle to give myself insulin... Then came disposable syringes with much finer gauge needles.... Today, I use an insulin pump to deliver controled amounts of insulin every hour.....

The time of glass syringes is long past.... So is Blackberry's.

With all due respect to a fellow diabetic, this is a silly analogy. The only real similarity between the BB10 OS/devices and the ones of the past is the name. I encourage the competition and any innovation they can provide.

Florence Ion / Florence was a former Reviews Editor at Ars, with a focus on Android, gadgets, and essential gear. She received a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and lives in the Bay Area.